What a Killian nasal speculum is
Of the five specula we make, this is the one a tray list is most likely to name. The Killian nasal speculum is the long bladed pattern, and long is the word that does the work: the blades reach past the front of the nose into the part of the septum a short speculum never gets to.
It also holds itself open, which is the other half of why it is specified by name. Here is the mechanism: a set screw holds the blades open at the width you set, so the hand that opened the speculum can let go and do something else, which is the whole difference between a self retaining speculum and one you hold. Google’s own description says the same thing from the other side, that the screw makes it “a self-retaining tool that keeps the hands of the surgeon free”.
There is one thing about this surname worth saying plainly, because our own search data says it loudly. KILLIAN IS NOT ONLY A SPECULUM. The Killian incision is a septoplasty approach, and Search Console records 19 impressions reaching this site for that procedure. The Killian gouge brings 20 more, and a Killian septum forceps on this site already sits at position 2.3 for the bare phrase “killian forceps”. So every keyword this page carries contains the word SPECULUM, and the incision is a phrase we deliberately do not chase: a visitor searching for a surgical approach does not want an instrument.
It is listed as a Killian nasal speculum, as a Killian long bladed nasal speculum and as a Killian self retaining nasal speculum. All three are the same instrument.
Key design features
The set screw, and the hand it gives back
Open the blades, turn the screw, let go. The speculum stays where you put it and the hand that was holding it is free for a suction or an elevator. Three of our five specula do this and two do not, and it is the first thing to settle before blade length or finish.
Long blades, which is the Killian identity
35, 50, 75 and 90 mm on our own record. The long end is the point: a 75 or a 90 mm blade reaches the posterior septum, and buyers describe these instruments by length before they describe them by surname. Our own Search Console shows 11 impressions for the bare phrase “short blade speculum”, which is the same distinction read from the other end.
Thin or regular, on any length
Our own attribute. Thin blades leave the airway freer for the instrument doing the work; regular blades spread harder. The old product name said Thin Blades as though that were the product, which described half of what we sell. Both are available on all four lengths.
A finish for the light, not for the look
Black coating, gold shafts or plain steel on our own record. A nose is lit from directly above and a polished blade throws that light straight back at the surgeon. The black option is a coating on steel, not a different metal.
Which length and which blade to order
Two decisions from our own attributes, and one figure we do not publish.
| Choice | Options | How to decide |
|---|---|---|
| Blade length | 35 mm | The vestibule and the anterior septum |
| Blade length | 50 mm | Standard adult work. The usual first purchase |
| Blade length | 75 mm | The posterior septum, where a 50 stops short |
| Blade length | 90 mm | The longest we make. Deep sinus corridors |
| Blade type | Thin or regular | Thin for room, regular for spread |
| Overall length | NOT published by us | Rivals quote 13 to 15 cm for the pattern. That is theirs. Our record carries the blade lengths and the blade type and nothing else |
Where it is used
Killian nasal speculum uses are surgical rather than diagnostic, and the long blade and the lock are why.
| Procedure | What the speculum does | Blade |
|---|---|---|
| Septoplasty | Holds the nostril and itself open for the length of the operation | 50 or 75 mm |
| Submucous resection | Reaches the bony part of the septum at the back | 75 or 90 mm |
| Nasal packing for epistaxis | Holds the corridor open while the pack goes in | 50 mm |
| Sinus surgery | Holds a deep corridor while an angled instrument works down it | 75 mm, thin blades |
| Foreign body removal | Opens the nostril wide enough to get a grasper past | 35 or 50 mm |
What it holds open, and what it must not do
Everything on this list follows from the fact that it locks.
| The task | What this speculum does | What it must not do |
|---|---|---|
| Holding the nostril open | Locks at a set width and stays there | It must NOT be left locked wider than the tissue will take. The ala cannot tell you it is blanching and the hand that let go cannot feel it |
| Reaching the back of the septum | A 75 or 90 mm blade gets there | A long blade is not a dissector. It spreads; it does not lift mucosa off bone |
| Being the right Killian | This is the SPECULUM | The Killian INCISION is a septoplasty approach and the Killian GOUGE is a different instrument. Both reach this site more often than the speculum does. This is neither |
| Being a known overall length | We publish blade lengths, not instrument length | Ask before ordering if the whole instrument has to fit a particular tray |
How it compares with the other four specula
Two axes decide all five: does it lock, and how long are the blades.
| Speculum | Holds itself open | Blades | Buy it when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Killian, this page | Yes, set screw | 35 to 90 mm, thin or regular | Your tray list names the pattern, or you want the long blade |
| Fiber optic Killian | Yes, set screw | Same, plus a light guide | The corridor is deep enough that a headlight is not reaching the bottom |
| Cottle | Yes, thumb screw | 35 to 90 mm, thin or regular | Septal and rhinoplasty work under the Cottle name |
| Hartmann | No, spring tension | 20 to 30 mm cone blades | Examination, not surgery |
| Thudichum | No, you hold it | Fig 0 to Fig 4 | Anterior rhinoscopy with a free hand |
Materials and finish
Every Killian nasal speculum we make is cut from high quality medical grade stainless steel. The steel itself is made to a German specification. We do not publish a grade number. A certificate says nothing about whether a set screw still holds its width after two hundred autoclave cycles, because a screw that creeps closes a speculum halfway through an operation and nobody notices until the view goes. The answer to that is in the making rather than in the alloy.
The screw and its thread are cut and lapped as a pair. A thread cut loose for easy assembly will hold on a bench and creep under load, which is the one failure that matters on a self retaining instrument.
The blades are ground as a matched pair so they spread parallel instead of scissoring, and on the thin blade option that pairing is harder, because there is less metal to keep straight. No sharp external edge anywhere on the outline.
Caring for it
Back the screw off before washing. A cycle run with the screw tight traps blood in the thread and the instrument comes back stiff.
Warm water, a soft brush along the blades and into the thread, autoclave with the tray. Open it, lock it, let go: it should not move. Drift means the thread needs looking at.
Ordering and wholesale
Every Killian nasal speculum is made by Adas Instruments in our own workshop and sold direct, which is why the price sits where it does against the catalog houses. Order one for a single tray, or in quantity for a hospital list or a distributor line. We do OEM work under your own brand and your own item numbers. Send us a sample and we will hold a run to your pattern rather than ours. Stock items ship from our own workshop. Backorder items take 10 to 12 working days to make. Every instrument carries a three year replacement warranty against manufacturing defects. Production is controlled under an ISO 13485 quality management system.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Killian nasal speculum used for?
Holding the nostril open during septoplasty, submucous resection, sinus surgery and nasal packing. The set screw locks the blades at a set width, which frees the hand that opened it, and the long blades reach the part of the septum a short speculum cannot.
Is the Killian nasal speculum self retaining?
Yes, and that is the main reason to choose it. Google puts it as a self retaining tool that keeps the surgeon’s hands free. Of the five specula we make, this one, the fiber optic version and the Cottle lock open; the Hartmann and the Thudichum do not.
What does long bladed mean here?
Our blades run 35, 50, 75 and 90 mm. The 75 and the 90 are what the phrase refers to: they reach the posterior septum. A Thudichum or a Hartmann stops at the front of the nose, which is fine for looking and not enough for operating.
Is this the same as the Killian incision?
No. The Killian incision is a septoplasty approach, a cut rather than a tool, and our own search data shows people looking it up and arriving here. This page is the speculum. We do not chase the incision phrase for that reason.
Killian or Cottle?
Both lock, both come in the same four blade lengths, both offer thin blades. If a tray list names one, buy that one. If nothing names either, the Killian is the more commonly specified of the two.
Related products and categories
For the same speculum with a light guide to the blade tip, the fiber optic Killian nasal speculum. For the same locking mechanism under the Cottle name, the Cottle nasal speculum. For the short spring pattern you hold in your hand, the Thudichum nasal speculum.
The rest of this family sits under nasal speculum and polypus instruments, and the wider set for the operation is under rhinoplasty instruments.













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